By Crystal Chan

WHAT began as an uneventful and sleepy start to the day turned into a traumatic experience for a train driver.

Guiding his empty train from Singapore to Johor Baru where it was to begin its service yesterday morning, he saw to his horror two teenagers sitting on the railway track in front of him.

He immediately blew his whistle to alert them and get them to move away.

1: Train driver applies brakes 2: Train needs to travel about 400m before coming to a complete stop.

When Mr Goh Sheng Yao, 19, and Miss Clara Lee Jing Yu, 20, failed to heed the train driver's warning, he applied the brakes - to no avail.

This is because a moving train takes about 400m before it can come to a full halt.

So the driver had to watch helplessly and in horror as the train mowed down the couple in front of him.

Mr Goh and Miss Lee, both Republic Polytechnic students, were killed on the spot.

The incident happened yesterday at around 5am, at the track near The Rail Mall in Upper Bukit Timah.

Ms Shahriza Embi, a spokesman for Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), which runs the trains, told The New Paper on Sunday that trains cannot stop immediately after the brakes are applied.

She said: 'If train drivers see an obstruction on or near the railway tracks, be it people or animals, we will sound a whistle.

'Sometimes, there are people who don't see the train coming so we have to alert them.

'We have emergency brakes, but the train will still move 400 to 500m before it stops. If the train stops suddenly, the impact can cause it to derail.

'So if you're within the braking distance, then it's too bad.'

The morning shuttle between Johor Baru and Singapore was cancelled. Four other train services were delayed for between one and two hours.

Empty train

Ms Shahriza said there were no passengers on the affected train, which was headed towards Johor Baru to begin the 6am shuttle service between JB and Singapore.

She said: '(Initial) police investigations concluded around 8am so it was too late for the train to go to Johor Baru.'

Passengers who bought tickets were offered refunds or transfers to trains at later times.

Ms Shahriza declined to name the driver or let him speak to The New Paper on Sunday, citing company policy.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said the impact of the train severed Mr Goh's left leg. He also suffered an open head wound and multiple body fractures.

Miss Lee had multiple body fractures, and her right leg was nearly severed at the knee.

The SCDF spokesman said: 'They (Mr Goh and Miss Lee) were already dead when we arrived (at 6.08am).'

Republic Polytechnic's corporate communications director, Mr Khng Eu Meng, declined to comment.

The polytechnic sent an e-mail to its students yesterday morning - a copy of which was obtained by The New Paper on Sunday - offering counselling to students affected by the tragedy.

Both Miss Lee and Mr Goh were studying in the polytechnic's School of Hospitality.

She studied hotel and hospitality management while he studied integrated events management.

Mr Goh was said to be an outstanding student - his name appeared in the polytechnic's academic roll of honours last year.

Police investigations into the unnatural death are ongoing. Witnesses can call 1800-255 0000.

This article was first published in The New Paper.